Tag

innovate

Chris Koens
In Leadership, The Back Burner

Energy is in the Making, Not the Made

digital illustration of a treasure map with a gray X and a dotted green line to get to the X. It depicts how energy is in the making, not just the destination. The image is a light blue map on a field of dark blue.

The Creative Mornings theme for May was Create, and the local speaker was Giovannie Dixon – LA-born Jamaican-American artist, muralist, and about as self-taught as it gets. The early morning chat took place at Ignite Sparked by BBB in downtown Phoenix – comfortable, bright, built for entrepreneurs and the people who think like them. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to get busy immediately. Maybe start a podcast. Enter the co-working vs cubicle debate. Question business “truths” more this week than you did last week.

That last one turned out to be more relevant than I expected.

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FlexTal
In Leadership, Sales & Growth, Talent Focus, The Future of Work

Tariffs, Tensions, and Talent: Navigating 2025

An AI-generated cargo ship carrying containers labeled "Freelancer" and "1099-Staffing"

When your supply chain gets taxed, your workforce doesn’t have to.

It started with an email.
Subject line: Urgent: Tariff Changes Affecting Your Shipment.
Your morning coffee suddenly tastes like despair. That container of widgets you’ve ordered for years? The duties just jumped from a manageable $2,000 to a migraine-inducing $12,000. And just like that, your budget has all the structural integrity of a wet paper bag.

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Chris Koens
In Leadership, Strategy & Business, The Future of Work

The Human Connection: Building Strong Relationships with Freelancers and Full-Time Employees

graphic of 4 human figures (represented by head and shoulders in a circle). Three employees are similarly blue, one is orange. All four are connected by intersecting lines.

Let’s be honest; over the last decade, the workplace has changed. It’s not simply that executives no longer rely on Blackberry or Palm; the whole landscape has experienced significant transformation. Gone are the days when cubicle-laden offices and 9-to-5 jobs were the only options. With the rise of the gig economy, flexible talent and remote workers have become an integral part of a global workforce. However, building solid relationships with freelancers and full-time employees remains essential for successful businesses despite physical distance and differing work arrangements.

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Chris Koens
In Leadership, Lifestyle, Strategy & Business, The Future of Work

Expect Employees To Hustle

graphic depicting a stylization of the words "side hustle, 2023"

With prices for everyday items on the rise and most Americans facing the tightening of their belts, people are searching for creative ways to increase their income. After exhaustingly checking the sofa cushions for coins, many people have turned to gig work to help make ends meet. As a result, the gig economy has rapidly transformed the traditional workforce, with more and more individuals seeking freelance work to supplement their income. In fact, a recent study found that nearly half of American workers have a side hustle and are participating in the gig economy in some capacity.

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Chris Koens
In Lifestyle, Sales & Growth, Strategy & Business, The Future of Work

What Do Rotary Phones and Full-Time Hires Have In Common?

drawing of rotary telephone on field of blue

Cell phones didn’t eradicate telephone calls, but when did you last use a rotary phone?

While companies continue to tighten their belts, lay people off, and cut full-time positions, the gig economy is growing. As a result, contractors and companies are finding the flexible talent model to be a sustainable approach to the current employment landscape.

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